June 10, 2004
Nothing to Sneeze
at: Orthodox Union Certifies Triaminic
Pediatric Cold/Cough/Allergy Liquid Medications as
Kosher
In an important breakthrough for kosher consumers,
the Orthodox Union (OU) and Novartis Consumer Health, Inc., a NJ-based
Novartis company, jointly announced today that the company's Triaminic®
brand pediatric cold/cough/allergy liquid medications have been
certified as kosher by the OU. Novartis Consumer Health, Inc. is the
first major over-the-counter company to attain OU certification for
pediatric cold/cough/allergy medications.
OU has certified eight varieties of Triaminic liquid. The products will
be available in packages bearing the famed OU Kosher symbol this summer.
They have been certified as OU pareve, meaning they contain neither meat
nor dairy ingredients.
The eight varieties of Triaminic liquid are: Cold & Cough, cherry;
Cough, berry; Chest & Nasal Congestion, tropical; Cough & Nasal
Congestion, orange-strawberry; Flu, Cough & Fever, bubble gum; Cold &
Allergy, orange; Night Time Cough & Cold, grape; and Cough & Sore
Throat, grape.
The Orthodox Union is the world's largest kosher certification agency,
certifying over 275,000 products produced in nearly 6,000 plants located
in 68 countries around the world.
"This is a very significant development for the kosher world," declared
Rabbi Menachem Genack, Rabbinic Administrator of the OU Kosher Division.
"In addition to the enormous growth of food products being certified as
OU Kosher, now a major line of over-the-counter pharmaceuticals is also
being made available to the kosher consumer. Triaminic is respected as
an effective cold/cough/allergy medication for children, but because of
the presence of possibly non-kosher glycerin, among other products,
kosher observant parents could not give Triaminic to their children.
Now, thanks to the Novartis Consumer Health, Inc. - OU collaboration,
they can.”
"The kosher marketplace has expanded to such a degree that manufacturers
welcome the opportunity to receive OU certification and are willing to
make the investment necessary to meet the OU's demanding standards,"
Rabbi Genack declared.
“Novartis Consumer Health, Inc. recognizes the importance of becoming a
part of the ever-expanding kosher marketplace, and is proud to offer
consumers a Triaminic product that meets the certified kosher standards
of the Orthodox Union,” said Lynne Millheiser, Senior Vice President,
OTC Business Unit North America.
The issue of whether medications must be kosher is often misunderstood,
declared Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran, Senior Rabbinic Coordinator at OU
Kosher, who served as liaison to Triaminic executives and oversaw the
product’s OU certification process. The issue, in fact, is so complex,
that last year the OU sponsored a seminar for rabbis and other
interested observers on kosher law regarding medications and vitamins.
"The guiding principle of Jewish law, as given to us in the Torah, is
V'Chai Bahem – And you should live by them," declared Rabbi Safran. "The
Talmud explains that God gave us these laws for us to live by, so that
our life may be enhanced and strengthened. However, these laws are put
aside in order to maintain and continue life. Therefore, someone who is
very sick on the Sabbath may call the doctor or drive to an emergency
room. Someone who is very sick on Yom Kippur may eat. Not only can we do
these things, we must do these things to preserve life," Rabbi Safran
explained. He added, "The Talmud says you can violate one Sabbath in
most instances so that you will be able to observe the next 51 Sabbaths
in the year."
As a result of this philosophy, "Any medicine which is required for an
illness which is even remotely life-threatening is not required to be
kosher. Jewish law regarding solid tablets and pills is even less
stringent, as they are inedible and swallowing them isn't even
considered like eating food."
But over-the-counter medications, like cold/cough/allergy medications,
are another story.
"People wrongly think these products don't have to be certified. But
they are taken in non-life threatening situations and therefore they
must be certified," Rabbi Safran said.
"For the enhancement of one's health and the treatment of certain
conditions that are not life-threatening, one must seek out a kosher
product. One such example is cough syrup," he declared.
Rabbi Safran noted that in addition to glycerin, cold/cough/allergy
medications may contain many ingredients – including artificial
flavorings – that may not be kosher. Moreover, the product could be a
liquid that is ingested, much like food, and should be treated as food.
Flavorings can give the product a pleasant taste, making it even more
like food.
Triaminic breezed through the certification process, as complicated as
it was, despite the large number of ingredients found in
cold/cough/allergy medications. "As an OTC products company, Novartis
Consumer Health, Inc. is accustomed to following the stringent
requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to have products
approved. As a result, it was very easy for them to follow the OU's
stringent requirements for certification," Rabbi Safran explained.
Rabbi Safran worked closely – literally on a day-to-day basis – with
Jila Breeze, Global Head of Quality & Compliance for Novartis Consumer
Health’s Over-the-Counter Business Unit, based in Parsippany, New
Jersey; and with Allison Johnson, Team Leader of Quality Assurance
Documentation, based in the Lincoln, Nebraska plant where the
cold/cough/allergy liquids are manufactured.
Both Ms. Breeze and Ms. Johnson maintained a close working relationship
with the Rabbi, going over details and peppering him with questions. Ms.
Johnson was in charge of producing the letters of certification for the
multiplicity of ingredients that go into the various medications, a
process that took several months. "There was a lot of documentation,"
she said with a laugh, adding, "Rabbi Safran was very patient with us."
Ms. Breeze was involved in the discussions with Novartis Consumer Health
Management that led to the decision to seek kosher certification and to
pursue the matter with the OU. Given the company's experience with the
FDA, "we were very prepared," Ms. Breeze declared. "We had good
documentation and good practices already in place." When ingredients had
to be changed, she said, they were.
"Novartis Consumer Health, Inc. identified with the kosher consumer
market and decided that among its many products, it would begin the
kosher process with Triaminic," Rabbi Safran declared, adding that the
process of certifying Maalox®, another Novartis Consumer Health, Inc.
brand, is already underway.
When Novartis Consumer Health, Inc. executives were visiting OU
headquarters to discuss the certification process, Rabbi Safran told
them, "When a religious person is physically weakened, that person
doesn't want to be spiritually weakened as well. By adhering to the laws
of kosher, a person – a child in the case of Triaminic – maintains his
or her spiritual strength and integrity while the body is healing. That
is why what Novartis Consumer Health, Inc. has done is so important."
The Orthodox Union, now in its second
century of service to the Jewish community of North America and beyond,
is a world leader in community and synagogue services, adult education,
youth work through NCSY, political action through the IPA, and advocacy
for persons with disabilities through Yachad and Our Way. Its kosher
supervision label, the
 , is the world’s
most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over 275,000 products
manufactured in 68 countries around the globe.
www.ou.org
Comments?
Requests? Questions?
Orthodox Union
Department of Communications and
Marketing
David Olivestone
Director
Stephen Steiner
Director of Public Relations
Main Office:
11 Broadway, New York, NY 10004
Phone:
212.613.8318
Fax: 212-613-0763
E-mail:
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